House to Vote on Defunding Medical Marijuana Raids

It's that time of year again, when the House Appropriations Committee considers the annual DOJ budget. In the next several days, an amendment will be offered defunding medical marijuana raids in states with laws permitting use of medical marijuana.

Representatives Rohrabacher and Farr will be introducing an amendment to this measure to prevent any of the department’s funding from being used to interfere with medical marijuana programs in states that have approved them.

The amendment would prevent the Department of Justice from using taxpayer funds to interfere in state-sanctioned medical marijuana programs.

“Patients and providers currently run the risk,” said Rohrabacher, “of having a federal SWAT Team-like police force raid their home or their place of business because of consumption of a plant. The militarization of the police force in order to prevent grandma from smoking an herb that will ease her pain during her last days on this earth is the type of thing that ought to make every conservative shudder.

“The harassment from the Drug Enforcement Agency,” he continued, “is something this body [Congress] should not tolerate. Businesspeople who are licensed and certified to provide doctor-recommended medicine within their own states have seen their businesses locked down, assets seized, and customers driven away.”

Senator Patrick Leahy raised this issue at the Senate Judiciary Committee last September:

“It is important, especially at a time of budget constraints, to determine whether it is the best use of federal resources to prosecute the personal or medicinal use of marijuana in states that have made such consumption legal,” Leahy said. “I believe that these state laws should be respected. At a minimum, there should be guidance about enforcement from the federal government.”

Since the feds claim their existing policy targets those who are not in compliance with state law, I'm not sure this would have much effect. Plus, it's not enough. What is needed is a federal law that decriminalizes all personal use and possession of marijuana (not just medical), removes marijuana from the list of controlled substances, disallows forfeiture for marijuana growers and sellers acting in conformity with the laws of their state, repeals mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana offenses and leaves the regulation of marijuana to the individual states.

The full text of H.R. 4660, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015, as passed by committee on May 8 and introduced for consideration by the full House is here. The House Report accompanying the budget bill is here.

being a Californian also means he has nothing in common with the Republicans in the Red Southern, and, Mid-Western States.

Having lived in Tennessee for the last 2-3 years, after decades in New York (in, and, around NYC) please, believe me when I tell you that "Red & Blue" don't constitute States, they constitute Countries. The differences are complete, as in, total. They may seem subtle in a lot of ways, but, they are truly profound.

It's been a fascinating couple of years for me, and, I'd love to get into it in more detail, but, here & now is not the time, nor the place.

Healthgrades.com is the largest database of doctors with the public grades in the United states. I know for certain that in the Belle Harbour area, the best rated doctor is Dr. David Lichtenstein, MD. He is a very well known internist with a ton of experience...